BELIZE CITY, Mon. Feb. 19, 2018– Luis Dominguez, 35, a St. Thomas Street resident who was the father of a baby girl 2 years old and a son yet to make his entry into this world, had reportedly been drinking and was lying alone on a table in his grandmother’s yard on 8th Street, enjoying the cool of the night, when an unknown gunman sneaked into the yard and shot him at close range about 4 to 5 times.

The killer then escaped.

Dominguez was hit in the head and chest and died almost immediately. Police went to the yard after being notified of the murder and transported his body to the morgue.

On our visit to the yard, Dominguez’s devastated grandmother, who spoke with Amandala but doesn’t want her name to be mentioned, said that the incident occurred at about 11:30 Saturday night. She said it was a custom of his to go to her yard and socialize with others. On Saturday, he was drinking with others, because the place was a popular hang-out spot for card-playing and other games. He then left on his motorcycle.

Dominguez later returned, but unknown to her, she said, because at about 10:00 that night she switched off the light in the yard and went to bed.

Shortly after, she heard what sounded like loud firecrackers exploding in her yard causing her to ask her husband who was exploding the “pop-shots” at this hour of the night, and her husband said that it was gunshots.

Dominguez’s grandmother drew her curtains and peeped out to see what was happening and that was when she saw her grandson sprawled on the ground, lying on his face, and she realized that he had returned to the yard.

They heard him gargling and gasping for breath, and then he died.

Initial reports to us are that at least 10 shots were fired at Dominguez, but his grandmother believes that five shots would be a more accurate estimate. She showed us bullet damage on a concrete wall near the spot where Dominguez had been sitting. She said that he would go into the yard and lie on the table until late in the night, and she would scold him, because he would not let her know that he was there, so that she could open the door so that he could go into a room to sleep comfortably.

Dominguez would just laugh, his grandmother said.

She and his family are at a loss as to why anyone would want him dead. She said that he was kind to them, but cannot say if he was involved in any activities that could lead to his murder. As far as she knows, he was working for the City Council.

She said that on occasions when he won the boledo draw, he would go to the yard and buy beers for everyone. She said that when she scolded him, he was never disrespectful to her. He was kind and generous, she said. He lived with his pregnant girlfriend and their daughter.

During the regular Monday police press brief, held at the Racoon Street Police Station this morning, ASP Alejandro Cowo, Commander of Crimes Investigation, said that they believe that Dominguez was the target of the shooting, although the motive for the murder is not yet known.

He said that Dominguez became known to police after he was arrested and charged with minor offenses.